Insights
Original frameworks and field-tested thinking on the operational challenges founders face when growth outpaces the systems that got them here.
The Lego Hire
AI doesn't need a bigger role in your company. It needs a defined one.
Companies everywhere are adopting AI because the pressure is enormous and the promise is compelling. But most are starting with the tool and looking for places to use it, which is exactly backwards. Map your processes first, identify the work that's necessary but doesn't require human judgment at every step, and give AI a clear role before you give it a seat at the table. The payoff isn't just efficiency. It's your team spending more of their time on the work that actually moves the business forward.
Read more →Why "Just Hire a COO" Doesn't Solve It
The operating system has to exist before someone can run it
Most startups that hire a COO to fix operational problems lose the hire within 18 months. The hire doesn't fail because the person lacks capability. It fails because the foundation they need to succeed doesn't exist yet. Decision rights, workflows, and the founder's judgment encoded into frameworks are what make an operational hire succeed.
Read more →The Case for Pruning
Growth requires the discipline to subtract
Your team doesn't need more hours in the day. They need fewer things stealing the ones they have. When 60% of work time goes to coordination instead of creation, the answer isn't another tool or meeting. It's the discipline to prune what's no longer earning its place on the calendar.
Read more →The Flight of the Goose
Structure is what makes teams move together
Nobody ever fixed a team by adding another Slack channel. Most friction isn't a people problem, it's a structure problem. When roles are clear, ownership is obvious, and decisions have a home, teams stop spinning and start moving in one direction.
Read more →The Renovation Rule
Every decision carries costs you're not seeing
Every decision is typically treated like a countertop. But it's never just the thing you see in front of you. Before you commit, ask what it directly costs, what you're giving up by choosing it, and what it sets in motion downstream. Those three questions won't slow you down. They'll keep a small decision from becoming an accidental renovation.
Read more →The Map from Memory
Capture knowledge before it disappears
The best time to draw a map is while you're still on the road. Institutional knowledge disappears in two directions at once: the expertise that never gets documented because it feels obvious, and the details that fade before anyone captures them. Build documentation into how work happens, not after it's done, and the map stays accurate enough to actually follow.
Read more →The Trail Without Markers
Connect daily work to strategic direction
A goal without a trail marker is just a wish with a deadline. If your team can't connect their daily work to your strategic objectives, they can't prioritize, they can't push back, and they can't tell whether they're making progress. Define what "on track" looks like, check it regularly, and give your team the clarity to know what belongs on the trail and what doesn't.
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